I

The hard work of Vikram and Weta workshop to give the necessary outlook for the movie must be appreciated in director Shankar ‘s I. Coming with a whole lot of expectations, the chances of I satisfying you completely is very less. Every ingredient Shankar uses to create a blockbuster is there to keep you engaged, but the shortage in dosage makes things less charismatic resulting in a good output rather than a fantastic output.

The story is about Lingesan, who aspires to be Mr. India and is already Mr. Tamil Nadu. Lingesan is a diehard fan of model Diya. One day he happens to meet Diya and was mesmerized after meeting her. Diya who was going through some personal issues found a solution for them through Lee aka Lingesan. However, that decision proved costly and Lingesan had to pay for that with his life. The movie basically tells us how all this happened and how Lingesan reacts to it.

When it comes to Shankar’s usual style, we do get to see a social preaching part in the story. What makes I different from rest of his filmography is that this one does not have a society rectification agenda. However, because of that the story slightly loses its strength to impress the viewer. Those of you who could predict a possible story from the trailer and teasers, won’t be surprised when things get revealed. In addition, some of the comedies, which are just there to increase the run time, will make it a bit itchy for you as we are expecting something that can be called as a magnum opus.

Making wise Shankar has tried to make it the next best and up to a level, he was successful in making the movie in an uncompromising manner. Story as I said is less charming while the screenplay did a good job in building some interest. Unlike the other Shankar movies, there are not any great dialogues in this Vikram starrer. They might have claimed that visual effects are on the next level, but it does not feel much. Stunts are partially thrilling. Music and background score are in accord with the mood of the movie. Good cinematography from P C Sreeram, but at certain points the coloring was inappropriate. The art direction was also quite nice. Weta workshop’s work for character looks was also fabulous.

Well the star of the show is certainly Vikram whose effort definitely shows on screen. It is not just the physical transformation that makes his work stupendous one. That scene in the second half where the character undergoes this tragic transformation was heartbreaking and the reason was Chiyaan’s acting which used the body language to perfection. He also shined as the illiterate body builder. Amy Jackson surprised me for sure by delivering a nice and tidy performance and I believe Shankar should be given the credit for getting the best out of her. Santhanam is there as the usual right hand of hero. Upen Patel, Ramkumar Ganesan, Ojas Rajani and Suresh Gopi did their respective roles nicely.

Overall, I might disappoint you if the baggage of your expectation is heavy. It is definitely not a trash like Lingaa. At the same time, it cannot be hailed as the best of Shankar. The rating for the movie is 3/5 from my end and a standing ovation to Vikram for giving his everything for a movie he believed in.